“And they send drones after you to kill you?”
“Probably not. We all saw that facility wasn’t up to snuff. It’s probably a malfunction. Murder seems a little extreme for a joyride. Either way, Gill and Brath helped me cut out the transponder. We’re still leaving it running for a little bit to draw the drones in, then Gill’s got something planned for it.”
Gill had gone to sit down on a rock, folding one leg over the other. He closed his eyes as he meditated. Alex wanted to ask him what he was planning, but once Gill closed his eyes, he was dead to the world until he opened them.
Jollies landed on Alex’s shoulder as she walked over to Brath and took a seat beside him. “How are you holding up?” she asked.
Brath forced a smile from beneath his beard. “It feels weird to be disobeying orders like this,” Brath admitted. “I mean, you’d think they would want us to help them instead of trying to shove us in the barracks.”
Alex shrugged. “They just don’t know what we’re capable of,” she said. “People tend to underestimate me, don’t you think?”
Brath nodded as Alex winked at him and laughed. “Yeah,” the gnome said. “I have firsthand experience of that. So, what, we just wait here forever?”
“Better than being out there, hunted by that freaky cobra thing. Trust me, you’d rather be bored for a little bit than have to deal with that.”
Team Boundless waited, occasionally standing and stretching, walking back and forth to kill time. Gill was the only one who didn’t seem bothered. Everyone else, especially Alex, looked ready to come out of their skin.
Because of Timber’s cloaking, the team wasn’t able to check if the drones were coming. All they could do was look at Jim’s computer system, the blinking green lights in a green graph. Something was coming, at least, but only Jim really knew how far away it was at the moment.
Alex wandered over to where Chine was relaxing, plopped down next to him, and curled up under his wing. I haven’t heard you complain about how bored you are in a whole day, the dragon joked.
Chine’s scales rose and settled back down as Alex nuzzled up closer. I’m trying to get better about that. It makes it harder for everyone else if I’m complaining all the time too. Waiting shouldn’t be torture. I mean, look at Gill.”
The dragon raised his head and looked across the snug hiding spot at Gill, who was now meditating on top of Timber’s head. He chuckled. Patient dragon. That would drive me crazy.
So, does everyone talk to their dragon as much as I talk to you? It’s kinda weird—you know, everyone sitting in a room quietly, having conversations no one can hear.
Chine absentmindedly clawed at the ground underneath him. The older dragons used to speak aloud. Their language was of the elements. That’s all breathing fire is—speaking the old tongue. We young ones, though, haven’t mastered the art. For us, speaking could accidentally kill you. Best to err on the side of caution.
Damn, you guys really are that powerful? Gets me thinking again. What the hell could the Dark One have that’s bigger and tougher than you dragons?
I do not know. No doubt, we will find out soon enough.
Alex’s comm went off, beeping loudly, potentially giving away their position. She covered it quickly and answered the call. It was Manny. “What do you want, Manny?” she hissed. “This isn’t the best time for me to talk.”
Before Manny spoke, Alex patched their conversation into the team channel. Gill opened his eyes as Jim, Brath, and Jollies walked over to Alex.
Manny was practically shouting at the top of his lungs. “I know it’s not a good time for you to be talking since I know you have a horde of drones after you! What were you thinking? Do you know how much trouble you’re going—”
“I don’t care how much trouble I’m getting into. Did you hear about Roy and Toppinir? Absolutely no backup, and they aren’t getting any unless we bring it to them.”
Manny sighed loudly, and Alex could imagine the look on his face. She’d seen it enough through Manny’s eyes. “Okay, I know it sounds bad, but they’re figuring something out. I still don’t know what it is, but they’re working on… Oh, I don’t know, Alex,” he admitted.
“I knew it!” Alex exclaimed. “You guys have no idea how to help them.”
“Wait, wait. I’m not the one in charge of planning anything. All I get is the information that‘s passed to me. They may have—”
“Manny, tell me the truth. Are they planning on saving Roy and Toppinir?”
Manny was silent for a long time, much longer than needed. Alex already knew the answer. She just wanted to hear Manny say it. “They aren’t planning on sending any backup,” Manny finally said. “Roy and Toppinir are too far into enemy territory. We’d lose tons of riders getting there.”
Alex crossed her arms, trying to remember she wasn’t angry with Manny. None of this was his fault. He was trying to look out for her and the whole team. His only mistake was caring about Alex. “That’s why we have to do this,” she explained, “I know we can get him out. I recognized where they are. From VR.”
“You have to be kidding me. You think you can save him because you remember an area from VR? Do you know how insane that sounds?”
“Not as insane as letting your two best dragonriders get killed by the Dark One.”
Manny laughed, which surprised Alex. “It’s almost as insane as letting our most promising new recruits throw their lives away on a suicide mission,” he countered.
“Good point. We’re still going. So, either help keep us alive or stop wasting our time.”
Manny sighed again,
